Texas Plant Information

    Tree Guide

    Great website for tree identification with pictures of the entire tree (shape), close-up of the leaf characteristics, fruiting bodies, and bark.

    Texas Tree Trails - A Geographic Guide to Texas' Significant Trees

    Non-native Invasive Plants of Southern Forests - A Field Guide for Identification and Control

1. The characteristics of leaf, twig, cone, or fruiting bodies

    

   Tree Guide

   Great website for tree identification with pictures of the entire tree (shape), close-up of the leaf characteristics, fruiting bodies, and bark.

    

   Guide to Leaf Terminology - Part 1   (Palomar University, Wayne's World)

   Guide to Leaf Terminology - Part 2  (Palomar University, Wayne's World)

    

2. The habitat in which these trees, shrubs or vines are found.

    

3. The important ways each tree, shrub, or vine is used by humans or wildlife and whether the species is native or was introduced to the area. If it is not native, explain whether it is considered invasive or potentially invasive.

    

   Texas Plant Information Database

    

Do the following:

1. Describe contributions forests make to:

    

   Forestland in Texas

    

   Texas Forest Service – Economic Development

    

   Forest Facts   (Texas Urban Forestry Council)

    

   Sustainable Forestry - State of the Forest Report [Texas Forest Service]

    

   1. Our economy in the form of products

       

      Economic Impact of Hurricane Rita to the Forest Sector

       

      Forests as Financial Assets

       

      An Economic Overview of the U.S. Solid Wood Industry

      See where Texas ranks compared to other top-producing forestry states.

       

   2. Our social well-being, including recreation

       

      Position Paper: Unmanaged Recreation

       

   3. Soil protection and increased fertility

       

      Forest Soil

       

   4. Clean water

       

      Water and the Forest Service

       

      Water Quality Protection Measures

       

      Article: Will Forest Practices Affect Water Quality?

       

   5. Clean air (carbon cycling, sequestration)

       

   6. Wildlife habitat

       

      Wildlife and Forests

       

   7. Fisheries habitat

       

      Watershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air & Rare Plants - Fish Facts  [USDA Forest Service]

       

   8. Threatened and endangered species of plants and animals

       

      Jump to the endangered species section of the ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE merit badge page

       

2. Tell which watershed or other source your community relies on for its water supply.

    

   Adopt Your Watershed - Educational Resources for Students and Youth

   What Watershed Do You Live In?

    

    Watersheds of the San Jacinto River and Trinity-San Jacinto Coastal Basins

    The Troop 1333 Scout Hut lies within the Cypress Creek Watershed.  Kaiserhof lies within the Spring Creek wateshed.

    

    Cypress Creek Watershed (Houston-Galveston Area Council brochure)

    

    Bacteria in Our Bayous (Houston-Galveston Area Council brochure)

    Both Spring Creek and Cypress Creek have been identified as watersheds not meeting contact recreation standards.

    

    2007 Basin Watershed Review (Houston-Galveston Area Council report)

    

    

Describe what forest management means, including the following:

Forest Engineering  (Temperate Forest Foundation)

1. Multiple-use management

    

2. Sustainable forest management

   Sustainable forestry means managing our forests to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by practicing a land stewardship ethic which integrates the reforestation, managing, growing, nurturing and harvesting of trees for useful products with the conservation of soil, air and water quality, wildlife and fish habitat and aesthetics. 
   U.S. Forests Facts & Figures 2001, Clemson University and AF

   Sustainable Forestry - State of the Forest Report [Texas Forest Service]

    

   Forest Certification

    

3. Even-aged and uneven-aged management and silvicultural systems associated with each type

   Reforestation (Temperate Forest Foundation)

    

4. Intermediate cuttings

    

5. The role of prescribed burning and related forest management practices

    

   Prescribed Burns

    

   Reasons for Prescribed Fire in Forest Resource Management  (Bugwood)

    

With your parent's and counselor's approval, do ONE of the following:

1. Visit a managed public or private forest area with its manager or a forester familiar with it. Write a brief report describing the type of forest, the management objectives, and the forestry techniques used to achieve the objectives.

    

   Jones Forest Conservation Center 

    

2. Take a trip to a logging operation or wood-using industrial plant and write a brief report describing:

    

   1. The species and size of trees being harvested or used and the location of the harvest area or manufacturer

   2. The origin of the forest or stands of trees being utilized (e.g., planted or natural)

   3. The forest's successional stage. What is its future?

   4. Where the trees are coming from (land ownership) or where they are going (type of mill or processing plant)

   5. The products that are made from the trees

   6. How the products are made and used

   7. How waste materials from the logging operation or manufacturing plant are disposed of or utilized

       

3. Take part in a forest-fire prevention campaign in cooperation with your local fire warden, state wildfire agency, forester, or counselor. Write a brief report describing the campaign, how it will help prevent wildfires, and your part in it.